Generation and characterization of hybrid thermotolerant yeasts strains taking advantage of the Brazilian biodiversity

• Grant number: 24/07890-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Andreas Karoly Gombert
• Grantee: Lucas Garbini Cespedes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The provision of a thermotolerant strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is deeply desired by the bioethanol industry due to the potential for reducing costs and process times. Several strategies have already been described in the literature to obtain a strain with this characteristic, including the hybridization of S. cerevisiae with other thermotolerant yeasts, thus combining their properties. Hybridization has the advantage of leading to a resulting strain with non-GMO potential and is capable of applying High Troughtput Screening (HTS) techniques to generate and select candidates with a better thermotolerant profile.In this work plan, the aim is to obtain a new strain of thermotolerant S. cerevisiae through hybridization with yeasts isolated by the INCT Yeast network. To achieve this, these isolates will be characterized according to their thermotolerance profile using HTS techniques and then hybridized with industrial strains of S. cerevisiae. HTS techniques will also be applied for the productive characterization of the hybrids obtained, which, after selecting the best, will be sequenced for genetic/genomic characterization. It is expected that at the end of the activities a hybrid strain that combines characteristics of good production and ethanol tolerance typical of an industrial S. cerevisiae strain, combined with the thermotolerant property of an isolate from Brazilian biodiversity, will be obtained.